This invention relates generally to liner-backed adhesive tapes and to self-feeding, manually operated tape dispensers for separating the adhesive tape from the liner and applying the tape to a surface, and more particularly to a sterile wound closure tape and an applicator for dispensing and applying the tape directly to a lacerated skin surface.
Wound closure tape is typically a flexible, porous plastic or fabric tape with a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating on its underside. Such tape is conventionally provided in short segments adhered to a backing sheet or liner and packaged in a sterile peel-open envelope. The liner is composed of material which resists adherence of the adhesive coating so that the tape segments can be easily peeled away to expose the coating. In operation, each segment of tape must be manually removed individually from the liner. During removal, the segment can coil and often inadvertently adheres to itself or the user. Applying the segment requires that the skin adjacent a wound edge be pulled together with one hand and the tape applied with the other hand. This process is ungainly and time-consuming. Handling the tape also degrades its ability to adhere to the skin and risks contamination of the wound. Accordingly, it would be preferable to dispense and apply wound closure tape to a skin surface without the foregoing disadvantages.
Unbacked adhesive tape rolled on a tubular spindle is well known. However, this form of tape is unsatisfactory for use as wound closure tape. The adherence between the layers of the rolled tape makes stripping tape from the roll difficult. Such tape cannot readily be applied directly from a roll to yieldable surfaces, such as human skin, which are not firm or rigid enough to exert sufficient pulling force to strip the tape from the roll or to easily tear off a length of applied tape. In addition, such tape cannot readily be maintained in a sterile condition until applied, making it unsuitable for use as a wound closure tape.
It has been suggested that liner-backed adhesive tape for medical purposes be provided as a continuous strip in roll form for use with a hand-held dispenser which separates the liner from the tape as the latter is dispensed. Such a suggestion together with dispensers for such tape are found in the identical disclosures of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,330,357 to Collins and 4,336,097 to VanKampen. However, when using a roll of continuous tape with such a dispenser, a tape cutting means must be provided either on the dispenser itself or separately from it to sever a strip of dispensed tape from the roll. If a separate cutting means, such as scissors, is used to cut a strip from the roll, both hands are occupied in applying the tape, one to hold the dispenser and the other to hold the cutting means, leaving no hand free for performing other necessary procedures. However, if the dispenser is equipped with a built-in cutting means, such as a cutting blade, the cost of manufacturing the dispenser is increased, possibly to an extent such that it would no longer be economical to dispose of the dispenser after it has dispensed a single roll of tape. Furthermore, dispensers with cutting blades present safety hazards unless such blades are well shielded. Such blades also tend to collect adhesive so that they may become ineffective after repeated usage. Adhesive-coated blades can also become contaminated with bacteria, thereby providing a potential source of contamination for the tape before it can be applied to a wound. Accordingly, there is a need for a liner-backed wound closure tape which can be provided in roll form and yet applied in short segments to close a wound without the use of a cutting means. There is also a need for a hand-held applicator which can store a roll of such tape and apply it in short segments directly to a wound without the need for a cutting means, either on the applicator or separately from it, and which can be disposed of when the roll is used up.
The aforementioned Collins and VanKampen patents also disclose a tape dispenser which separates the tape from the liner and propels the waste liner into a liner storage chamber of the dispenser as the tape is pulled from its roll. This is a desirable feature of any applicator for wound closure tape. However, such a dispenser requires that the storage chamber walls be curved to cause the waste liner to coil in the chamber to ensure that the liner will not jam the dispenser. The need for a curved liner storage chamber tends to dictate the overall shape of the dispenser, which for optimum comfort and handling might best be of some other shape. Accordingly, there is also a need for a wound closure tape and applicator therefor which operate such that as the tape is dispensed from the roll and applied to a wound, the waste liner will be stored in coiled form within a storage chamber of the applicator, without regard to the shape of such chamber.
In applying tape from a roll within an applicator across a skin laceration, it is advantageous to place the tape under controlled tension to help close the laceration. In the dispensers of the aforementioned Collins and VanKampem patents, this tension is applied manually by extending a thumb or finger through an opening in the dispenser housing to press an exposed section of the lined tape against an interior wall of the dispenser. The opening and use of direct thumb or finger pressure to apply tension exposes the interior of the dispenser and thus the tape supply roll to contamination from external sources, rendering this approach undesirable for medical purposes. Accordingly, there is a need for an applicator for dispensing wound closure tape from a supply roll of lined tape under a controlled tension without exposing undispensed portions of the tape within the applicator to contamination.
Another problem in dispensing liner-backed adhesive tape from a supply roll within a dispenser is the tendency of the adhesive to be squeezed from between the tape and liner along their edges, gumming up any internal moving parts of the dispenser such as supply and takeup reels. The dispensers of the Collins and VanKampen patents partially avoid the problem by eliminating all internal moving parts. However, the narrow internal tape and liner passageways of such dispensers are subject to partial blockage by free adhesive, which could cause the dispensers to malfunction. Accordingly, there is a need for a liner-backed adhesive wound closure tape and an applicator capable of dispensing such tape from a supply roll without fouling the applicator. There is also a need for an applicator that will deliver adhesive tape from a supply roll of liner-backed such tape smoothly while separating and storing the waste liner in the applicator under all conditions without malfunction. Although various tape dispensers have been proposed in addition to those of the aforementioned Collins and VanKampen patents, none fulfill all of the foregoing needs. Some of such applicators are discussed below.
Numerous devices have been proposed for dispensing or applying unbacked, rolled tape. Examples of self-feeding applicators for such tape are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,493,737 to Burns; 2,560,241 to Pangborn, et al.; and 4,060,444 to Schweig, Jr., et al. However, such devices are not usable to dispense or apply adhesive tape carried on a backing strip or sheet because they lack means for removing such a sheet or a strip. Accordingly, numerous applicators and dispensers of different kinds have been proposed for use with adhesive or pressure sensitive tape carried on a backing strip.
One of the simplest applicators of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,988 to Preisler. This applicator houses a roll of pressure sensitive adhesive sheeting carried on a backing sheet in a cylindrical tube. The sheeting is dispensed through a lengthwise slot in the tube. A compressible pressure bar protrudes outwardly from the external face of the tube at the edge of the slot. By exposing and applying an end of the pressure sensitive sheet to a vertical surface, such as a wall, and pulling the applicator tube downwardly along the surface, the sheeting is rolled onto the surface. The backing sheet automatically peels downwardly away from the pressure sensitive sheeting as the sheeting is pulled upwardly around the pressure bar. However, this applicator is poorly suited for use in applying wound closure adhesive tape to skin surfaces. Preisler discloses no means for taking up the waste backing sheet. Such sheet contacts the wall surface as it peels from the adhesive sheet. Using such an applicator on a horizontal skin surface would drag the waste backing sheet along the skin surface, interfering with application of the tape and risking contamination of the wound.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,569,140 to Avery discloses an applicator which uses a pair of rollers to draw the backing strip rearwardly around a 180.degree. turn to separate it from the tape and to pull it away from the area where the tape is being applied. The lower roller tracks along the surface to which the tape is being applied. It is turned by frictional engagement with the surface, necessitating that the applicator press against the surface with enough force to turn the rollers. Application of such force to a lacerated skin surface is undesirable. This device also provides no means for collecting the waste backing strip. It additionally requires moving parts including rollers, making it expensive to construct and to clean thoroughly. It is, therefore, unsuitable for use in a medical environment, wherein a disposable applicator would be greatly preferred and cleanliness is essential.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,039 to Lash discloses a tape dispenser which winds the backing strip on a takeup roller driven by a pulley connected to a spindle supporting the adhesive tape. Lash's dispenser takes up the waste backing strip as tape is dispensed but uses a more complicated mechanism than is preferred. It also lacks means for applying the tape directly to a skin surface.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,845,041 and 3,274,038 to Karn disclose devices for applying adhesive coating material rather than tape. In both devices, a layer of adhesive substance is carried on a backing strip which, when pressed against a surface, leaves the adhesive substance behind. Neither of these devices would be useful for applying a selected length of adhesive tape to a skin surface over a wound and then separating the length of tape from the applicator. The earlier Karn patent discloses a chain-driven roller arrangement for pulling the backing strip into a storage chamber. The storage chamber is roughly triangular in shape and the passageway is positioned to feed the waste backing strip into the center of the chamber. This arrangement is undesirable, particularly if the feed rollers are omitted, because the waste backing strip can accumulate in such a way that it blocks the passageway. It is also too complex for economical use as a disposable applicator. The latter Karn patent discloses an applicator designed to wind the backing strip back around the roll to an internal passageway leading upwardly to a tear-off edge or alternatively to a backing strip storage chamber.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,468,743 to Soriano and 4,240,867 to Diegel disclose adhesive tape dispensers which employ peel blades to separate the adhesive tape from its backing. These devices are unsatisfactory generally because the adhesive material can stick to the peeling blade. They are unsuitable for medical use because of the potential for contamination of the wound closure tape by the peeling blade. Both devices also lack means for accumulating the backing strip as it is removed from the adhesive tape.
Other label and tape dispensers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,222,242 to Ingalls, et al.; No. 3,308,002 to Hurwich, et al. and No. 3,369,951 to Fritzinger. All of these devices are quite complex, requiring numerous moving parts for their operation, and therefore are unsuited for applying wound closure tape.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a simple, sanitary and effective applicator for wound closure tape carried on a liner or backing strip.